MeshGearFox

I didn't have my heart set on wide body or regular (which ain't exactly narrow), 4-wheel drive or two. And while I don't live in Canada, I live in New England, so winters are plenty full with snow, sand, and salt.

I know some guys put snow tires on their C4S's and drive 'em like rally cars. That's exactly what I did with my previous car (Audi S5) which I traded in for my C2S. I had 2 sets of wheels for my S5, and it was a great AWD hooner in the winter.


But it here was my decision tree:

1) Do I really want to drive my dream car in snow, or behind salt spreaders, or when sand-blasting is all but guaranteed by the cars in front of you? Negative.

2) So if it's a 3-season car, and you're putting it in hibernation for the winter, do you really want or need AWD? Negative.

3) Looked at wide bodies and "regulars" in the showroom. Were you so in love with the wide body C4 that you wanted it on hips alone? Not really.

4) Drove a base 2017 C2 in the color I wanted (Graphite Blue). Did I like the power? Yes. Was I blown away by it, Not really. The SA was adamant that after having been in an S5, I wouldn't be happy in a base Carrera, even though I'd save some bucks in the short term. It was good advice.

5) Saw a much more nicely spec-ed Graphite C2S on the floor at my dealer. Did the red brakes seduce me? Affirmative. Did the extra HP call to me? Affirmative. Did the wheels and all the other shiny techy bits seal the deal for me, plus the fact it was on the floor so I was in a better position to negotiate? Yes yes yes.

Just one guy's rationalisation stream, to get to this:

FiveRiversGTS

Two Reasons for the C4:
1) This will be your only vehicle.
2) You want the Wide Body.

I did a quick look at the prices for Canadian Models:

For the C4:
$110,000 with $25,900 options is about 24%

For the C2S:
$118,200 with $19,800 options is about 17%

Even though you spend 2K more now on the C2S I feel you would get back about 4K more when the car value is about half if using the base MSRP with a delta of $8,100.

So I would vote for the C2S.
Better performance for less overall cost.

kayjh

Thanks for everyone's thoughts. The graphic provided by Hurricane is kind of how I feel.

I think the C4 will have plenty of power for me, although I agree that more power is never a bad thing. I don't see driving the car in deep snow, but where I live, snow clearing is very good after major events so I'd get some use in the winter.

I have a couple of young kids though so getting them in an d out of the car every day on the school drop off run is another reason for a second car. On the other hand, I fell in love with the C4 wide body look, so am conflicted about giving that up.

Given that I have limited choices (switching to a C2) at this point, Im inclined to stick with the C4 as ordered and get a less expensive winter car. I expect to be able to drive my C4 through November and as I mentioned above, start driving it again in late March or early April as soon as the roads are cleaned up a bit.

In the past, I started out purchasing my vehicles thinking I'd keep them long term. But I never seemed to do that so I switched to leasing because in my market, some cars can be hard to sell (my current 2013 BMW 535 X Drive advertisement has not had one reply at any price). I'm happy I can walk away from that car and into a new Porsche.

So, I was thinking I'd buy a Porsche and keep it 6 years. But, based on past experience, I'm thinking when the new generation 911 comes out in 2 years I'd start looking at that. So, that make me think about leasing. Now, when I look at lease payments, I start seeing the $2,200/month payment and think "why not just drive the car year round - you are paying for it anyway", hence the decision to go to a C4 (from a C2).

Of course as Stormrune points out, whether we drive them or not, our cars are depreciating. So in the end, not sure whether I'll buy and trade or lease and return, but I want to get use out of the car year round, if I can.

Like I say, a conflicted dude, but that was the thought process anyway.

kayjh

I think your analysis is spot on. In fact Porsche residuals on C4 vs C2 (C2S) are about 2% lower. Maybe I should have asked this question a few months ago. Of course, I think I would have defaulted to a C2.

I do like the wider body look and the base car has more than enough power for me.

Given that the last several used cars sold by my dealer went to Toronto at their full asking price (which in my mind were ridiculous to begin with). The reason? Low mileage cars are in strong demand in that market. Now if all of a sudden Porsche starts flooding the Canadian market with allocations that might change.

sexfiend

For someone who wants to daily drive a 911 in the North East, would winter tires be enough to drive around town as long as below the clearance limit?

Also, how bout in the rain and during summer times with summer tires on? Is being in a AWD 911 much safer compared to the RWD'S?

Also, what are the driving dynamics or "feel" differences? Does the RWD benefit over the 4S that much?

I want to move up to the 911 from a 981S w sport suspension - I feel it offers just irreplaceable driving feel...I'm afraid I might lose it just to "upgrade" to the 911.

fuddman

Of all the comments on this thread, this one provides the best insight.